Cynanchum paniculatum KITAG. (Asclepiadaceae) is a vivacious plant distributed across all of Korea and also cultivated in China. The root of Cynanchum paniculatum is used as a Chinese traditional medicine. Recently, the plants of genus Cynanchum of Asclepiadaceae, e.g. Cynanchum atratum, Cynanchum auriculatum and Cynanchum paniculatum, were studied for their anticancer and analgesic effects. [1][2][3] In addition, Cynanchum paniculatum has been traditionally used for gastritis and relieving pain in China. In traditional medicine, the dried root of Cynanchum paniculatum relieves rheumatic arthralgia, lumbago, pain due to traumatic injuries, abdominal pain, toothache, and other kinds of pain, as well as skin diseases such as eczema, rubella, neurodermatitis and snake bite. 4) A number of chemical constituents such as cynapanosides A, B, and C, paeonol, and antopine have been identified from Cynanchum paniculatum, 3,5,6) of which paeonol had been found to have analgesic effects in mice.
6)These studies concentrated on its analgesic and anticancer effects, without investigating its anti-inflammatory effect. Therefore, the present study employed NSAIDs; indomethacin, which is a non-selective cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitor, and phenidone, which is a dual blocker of COX and lipoxygenase (LOX), to compare the anti-inflammatory effects with EACP. Pentobarbital sodium was used to study the sedative effect. The present study was undertaken to further elucidate the anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive effects of Cynanchum paniculatum, using the ethyl acetate (EtOAc)-soluble portion of the 70% methanol extract of its roots.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Plant MaterialThe roots of Cynanchum paniculatum were purchased from Young-chang Co., Seoul, Korea. This plant material was authenticated by Dr. D. Y. Kwon and a voucher specimen (No. 05-010) was deposited in the laboratory of herbology, College of Pharmacy, Wonkwang University, Iksan, Korea.Preparation of Fraction The roots of Cynanchum paniculatum (1 kg) were extracted with 70% MeOH three times for 2 h under heating mantle-reflux. The resultant extract was condensed to 1 l in a rotary vacuum evaporator (N-1000S, EYELA, Japan) and in succession was partitioned with hexane, EtOAc and 1-buthanol (BuOH). After each partition, the solutions were filtered and the solvents were evaporated in a rotary vacuum evaporator. The extract yielded hexane (13.0 g), EtOAc (9.85 g), BuOH (40.4 g) and water (103.7 g) soluble fractions. All of the samples were stored at Ϫ4°C. The samples of the fractions and reference drugs were suspended in 5% Tween 80.Animals Male Sprague-Dawley rats (100-120, 180-200 g) and male ICR mice (30Ϯ3 g) were purchased from SAMTAKO BIOKOREA, Korea and used in the experiments. All animals were kept in a temperature-controlled room with a 12 h light-12 h dark cycle. The animals had free access to commercial solid food (SCF Co., Ltd., Korea) and water ad libitum. They were acclimatized for at least 1 week before starting the experiments.Drugs and Chemicals Evans Blue, acetic...